MUMBAI: The Iraq conflict may be behind us but the need to provide security for journalists reporting from the field of battle has come to the forefront yet again. A few days ago British journalist James Miller was killed by Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip.
Miller was working on a HBO documentary that deals with the impact of terrorist action on children. An eyewitness report indicates that this happened despite the fact that Miller and two colleagues were simultaneously filming and waving a white flag as they walked toward the tank which opened fire.
Miller was responsible for the documentary Beneath the Veil that scrutinised life under the Taliban, which won Royal Television Society awards.
Miller had also worked on a number of Correspondent programmes for BBC TWO. BBC Head of Current Affairs Peter Horrocks said, "We knew him as a talented and brave journalist, passionately committed to exposing abuse of human rights and injustice in the world. It's extremely tragic that he died this way. The BBC is gravely concerned by the increasing number of journalists killed in the course of their work."
A spokesman for the Israeli army has been quoted in a report saying, "It must be stressed a cameraman who knowingly enters a combat zone, especially at night, endangers himself".
General secretary of the International Federation of Journalists Aidan White has called for an independent inquiry . He said: "Killing journalists either deliberately or by gross negligence should be made official war crimes under international law."